"What! A joint Chunin Exam for all five nations?!"
Naruto's shout echoed through the sky, startling a flock of sparrows from the treetops.
Leaves fluttered down as Sasuke, who'd been practicing his Lightning Release, couldn't help but stand up. For a moment, the surprise in his eyes overshadowed his usual hunger for power.
"That's right!"
Kakashi, who was normally so laid-back and casual, looked dead serious when it came to this exam. He tucked away the latest edition of Icha Icha Paradise and said gravely, "This joint Chunin Exam for the five nations is an unprecedented super-exam in the ninja world!
"It's not just the shinobi from the five great nations, either. Countless smaller villages like Grass, Sound, Rain, Waterfall, and Star have all announced they're participating!
"This is gonna be a massive event for the entire ninja world. Geniuses, elites, monsters—they'll all show up. Secret technique users will be everywhere, bloodline limit wielders will be a dime a dozen, and it wouldn't be weird to run into someone on Hikari's level!"
"Man, that's awesome!"
Flames burned in Naruto's bright blue eyes as he clenched his fists, his body trembling.
But it wasn't fear of the enemies' strength—it was pure excitement he couldn't contain. His muscles, bones, even his scalp tingled like he'd been zapped by electricity!
He still remembered what Hikari had told him back when he was getting bullied by his classmates. That's why he was called a monster—because he didn't have enough power!
Just like how Hikari's inhuman weight never made anyone call her a monster to her face. No one shot her disgusted looks. Instead, everyone looked at her with awe and called her Konoha's top genius.
And now, the strongest genin from the entire ninja world would gather for this exam. If he could score big—maybe even take first place—he'd earn that genius title too!
This exam was the chance he'd been waiting for.
His dark life of bullying, contempt, and hatred—saved by Hikari's ray of dawn—was finally about to see real light!
Sasuke's breathing grew heavy too, Kakashi's words stirring him even more than Naruto. His breaths came ragged.
Back when he was holed up in the hospital after the clan massacre, wallowing in self-pity, Hikari had been out slaying Cloud ninja and becoming a hero at the academy.
From that moment, he'd realized: all those tragedies stemmed from weakness. If he had Hikari's power, he could've stopped the Uchiha massacre.
That's why he'd trained so hard for strength. But the more he trained, the more he felt the gap in talent.
Sure, they called him a genius at the academy, but he never bought it deep down.
How could he? The people around him were just too strong!
Naruto, with his hundreds of shadow clones training at once and chakra like an endless ocean. Hikari, whose limits were impossible to see. The former top genius Kakashi, who'd graduated at five, become a chunin at six, and a jonin at twelve. And then Might Guy, who'd become a jonin through pure taijutsu alone—the guy whose legend said opening the Eight Gates could surpass even a Kage!
Compared to their insane talents, Sasuke had started doubting his own Sharingan.
Could he really surpass those monsters with just these eyes?
That nagging doubt kept chipping away at his confidence, leaving him more and more lost about his own potential.
There was a time when people called him a genius, and all he could do was mock himself with, "A genius among ordinary folks, but ordinary among real geniuses!"
And now was the time to test his strength.
Was it that Hikari and Naruto were just freaks, or was he really that average? This super-exam would reveal it all!
"Ah~ ha—"
Full from eating and using a big tree as a backrest, Hikari let out an involuntary yawn. Compared to Naruto and Sasuke, who looked like they were on fire, she was just a lazy salted fish.
She wasn't excited at all. If anything, she was sleepy.
They were just taking a joint exam. But as the head proctor, Hikari had way more on her plate!
How to keep the out-of-village ninja from causing trouble and house the potential thousand-plus participants.
What difficulty should the written test be? Ibiki might not be able to handle that rowdy bunch of genin. Would the courage test even work on five nations' worth of shinobi?
The Forest of Death was brutally harsh; some experimental areas needed sealing off. With so many candidates, the pass rate had to drop.
The Heaven and Earth Scroll elimination rate was still too low.
Red Bean, Ibiki, and Anko hadn't even come to Root to see her yet. By now, the written test questions should be finalized...
Suddenly being made head proctor came with all these headaches, and Hikari was starting to regret agreeing to Sarutobi's request.
The three of them lost in their thoughts, the scene fell silent.
After dropping the news, Kakashi had been watching their reactions closely.
Two fired up, one chill—but none of them showed any fear of the Chunin Exams. He nodded to himself and continued, "Anyway, that's the situation. I've already filled out your registration forms. Just hand them in once the other villages' ninja arrive.
"Your job now is to train hard and aim for top scores in the upcoming exam.
"I've got stuff to do, so I'm heading out!"
Naruto, eyes sparkling, nodded like a bobblehead. But hearing Kakashi show up just to leave, his face turned into two straight lines: "Kakashi-sensei, the exam's right around the corner! You're not gonna give us special training?"
Kakashi ruffled his silver mop of hair and gave the three a dead-fish stare. "Nah, I don't think so. With your skills, you'll be fine training on your own."
It wasn't laziness—this was his honest opinion.
Naruto and Sasuke, influenced by Hikari, were on the taijutsu path, totally different from his all-rounder style. He'd taught them everything he could; he couldn't prep them for this.
Plus, he had total faith in their strength—especially the freakish Hikari.
Sure, he'd said there might be geniuses on her level, but he knew better. That kind of talent only came around once every thousand years, and the odds of running into one were slim. As for someone surpassing her? No way that monster existed!
Special training? Pointless!
The real priority was the latest Icha Icha Paradise—brand new this morning, only available at the Konoha bookstore. He'd just grabbed it and hadn't even cracked it open yet.
He might've looked calm, but inside, he was more antsy than Naruto and Sasuke combined!
"Announcement over. Good luck on the exams, everyone. Bye!" Kakashi ignored their reactions, formed seals, and poofed away in a cloud of smoke.
Whoosh~
A gentle breeze twisted and dispersed the smoke. Kakashi was gone, leaving Training Ground Three empty except for Naruto, Sasuke, and Hikari.
"Kakashi-sensei's the total opposite of Guy," Naruto grumbled, mouth twisted in exasperation. He bent down, picked up his orange jacket from the ground, shook it out, and used it like a towel to wipe the sweat from his face.
"We're all taijutsu types. Kakashi-sensei can't help us much."
After five years training under Kakashi, Sasuke still said a fair word for him. But not having a suitable teacher was still a big problem for him and Naruto.
Guy's methods honed willpower and physical limits, which had helped them before. But now, with the Chunin Exams looming, basic physical training wouldn't give the quick results they needed.
Creak, creak!
Boom, crack!
Right then, the massive tree Hikari had bent under her weight finally gave out. The trunk, skewered with a toothpick, snapped and smashed a shallow crater into the ground, kicking up a cloud of yellow dust.
A gust of wind swept the dust away. Hikari stood up, unscathed, and waved to Naruto and Sasuke. "I gotta go too. You guys keep training."
"Wait—hold on!"
Sasuke suddenly called out to Hikari. His fingers gripped the wide sleeve of his haori tightly, his expression shifting like he was wrestling with a huge decision.
Hikari, about to leave, saw Sasuke's fidgety look and knew he needed a favor. This Sasuke was a far cry from the original story, so she was willing to lend a hand where she could.
"What's up?"
"I—"
Staring at Hikari's gentle, pretty face, Sasuke couldn't get the words out.
He knew her true nature was the opposite of her appearance. Under that warm, kind, sunny exterior was a witch-like heart. Handing his body over for her to poke and prod? Just thinking about it made him shiver.
Nearby, Naruto was packing up his clothes to head out. Spotting the intense stare-down between the guy and girl in the distance, his legs felt like lead. He sneaked a sideways glance, looking all shady and suspicious.
He'd given up on his feelings for Hikari, but he had to see what was going on!
Naruto's sneaky peeking didn't escape the eyes of two dojutsu users.
Crimson flared in Sasuke's eyes as he blinked his Sharingan at Hikari, then glanced toward Naruto. "About what you mentioned last time… I agree. Last time?"
Hikari blinked at Sasuke's cryptic words, but seeing him deliberately activate his Sharingan, she remembered: she'd wanted to study a live Uchiha, asking Sasuke to be her guinea pig. He'd freaked out and refused.
He was agreeing now?
Seeing Sasuke's heavy expression, a faint smile of delight crossed Hikari's face.
The three-tomoe Sharingan from Hashirama's cells? That was a miracle born of brute force.
She'd always wanted to see what the Second Hokage described: the special chakra born in the Uchiha brain during moments of extreme emotion.
Could she replicate that unique chakra?
But live Uchihas were rare, and extreme emotions hit too fast. Without a quiet lab, it was hard to capture. She'd missed it when Sasuke evolved from one-tomoe to two.
"Naruto?"
"Uh~?"
Hikari suddenly turned to Naruto, who'd perked up his ears like a puppy. He jolted, spine stiffening, his voice shaky from guilt.
"Sasuke and I have some stuff to talk about. Could you…"
"OK! Won't bug you guys!"
Even though it was a public training ground and even though his heart soured like he'd bitten a lemon, Naruto turned and bolted obediently.
He couldn't say no to Hikari's requests.
Five years ago, same as now!
Plus, he knew these two training maniacs well. No way they were flirting.
Probably something about ninjutsu research. Though, they'd never excluded him from that before...
Jacket slung over his left shoulder, headband on his right, hands in pockets, Naruto headed toward the village.
He was craving Ichiraku Ramen!
As Naruto's figure vanished into the trees, Hikari's gaze followed until he was out of sight.
Since the Orochimaru incident, human experimentation was a total taboo in Konoha! Studying the Sharingan and Uchiha definitely fell under that. Sunny-hearted Naruto wasn't cut out for that darkness.
If he knew about her and Sasuke doing human experiments, he'd agonize: Report to the Third? Or keep the secret for his best friends? After all that inner turmoil, whichever he picked would leave him miserable. No need for that.
Just don't tell him!
"What do you want?" Hikari asked Sasuke bluntly, now that the peeper was gone. His eyes still glowed crimson.
"Let you study my Sharingan once, in exchange for Lightning Blade: Fang!"
Now that he'd decided, Sasuke didn't beat around the bush.
Whether it was the Chunin Exams in a month or his future in ninja taijutsu, he needed that powerful lightning blade!
So that's what he was after—the Lightning Blades.
Hikari smiled knowingly. For a ninja skilled with blades, nothing was more tempting than a perfect ninja sword. "Once? That's nowhere near worth a precious Lightning Blade." She shot down his offer flat.
If Sasuke just needed help, she'd give him a favor for free. But a trade? It had to be equal value.
She'd learned that the hard way in her past life.
Thinking they were good friends, she'd let him take advantage on money stuff. Then, when she needed a favor, he'd haggle and say, "Didn't you charge me before?"
Young her felt so wronged—pouring out so much without appreciation. Later, she realized she'd been the fool.
Favors were favors—no money involved. Deals were deals—no emotions. Mix 'em, and you lose both ways!
"So what'll it take to get the Lightning Blade?"
Sasuke hadn't expected even selling himself wouldn't cut it. Anxiety crept in unbidden, his inexperience in bargaining making him look so young it almost made Hikari feel bad for haggling.
After thinking it over, she said, "Here's the deal: Starting today, you be my test subject for Sharingan research. In return, I'll give you usage rights to the Lightning Blade."
"Usage rights?"
Sasuke mulled over the unfamiliar term, then got it.
He'd only get to use the blade as long as he was her test subject. Once she was done with him, it'd go back.
Fair enough, but Sasuke wasn't satisfied.
With Hikari's terrifying ninjutsu talent, she might figure out his Sharingan in days. If he hadn't mastered the blade by then, it'd be snatched away—total loss for him.
And if she learned nothing and lost interest? Same deal—he'd lose the blade. No matter how he crunched it, it couldn't be his go-to weapon. That defeated the whole point.
"I want full ownership of that Lightning Blade. Name your price!" Sasuke took a deep breath, handing over all the leverage.